For the Future Campaign Raises $2.158 Billion

After more than seven years of fundraising, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State students has raised $2,157,887,540.12 through private donations.

The total was announced Saturday at a Blue-White Weekend celebration. The campaign’s official end is set for June 30. Donations to For the Future exceeded initial goals as well as funds raised through the A Grand Destiny campaign, which amassed nearly $1.4 billion between 1996 and 2003.

“The success of For the Future clearly demonstrates that Penn State is stronger than ever and that Penn State values endure,” said Senior Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Rodney Kirsch in a release. “This spirit of caring, generosity and volunteerism defines the Penn State family. The campaign’s focus on how philanthropic support enhances every aspect of the student experience resonated deeply with our donors as they firmly stood by our students during an extraordinarily challenging time in our history.”

The success of the For the Future campaign puts Penn State among only 12 public universities that have exceeded a $2 billion goal in a private donor campaign. These donations came from more than 603,000 donors, including 167,500 alumni. According to Penn State News, this is believed to be the largest contributing alumni group in the nation.

Contributions made throughout For the Future reach a wide array of areas within the university, all of which correspond with the campaign’s six goals: ensuring student opportunity, enhancing honors education, enriching the student experience, building faculty strength and capacity, fostering discovery and creativity, and sustaining a tradition of quality. Perhaps the campaign’s most important success, however, comes in the form of additional financial aid for students: 91,000 new scholarships and financial awards were distributed throughout the effort.

For more detailed information on the breakdown of the $2.158 billion, check out this infographic from Penn State News:

“Our donors’ tremendous support of For the Future has already helped transform Penn State and placed it in the top echelon of global universities,” said President Rodney Erickson. “From creating new scholarships to funding groundbreaking research to allowing our faculty to innovate in the classroom, For the Future has enhanced every aspect of a Penn State education, and we have our donors’ visionary support to thank for this dramatic and widespread impact. Penn State will thrive for generations to come because of the generosity of our supporters and the ongoing dedication of our alumni and friends. On behalf of the entire University, I would like to thank the supporters of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students for their overwhelming generosity.”